Tech Stocks in Motion

Mobility Electronics, Mentor Graphics and TeleTech move after giving fourth-quarter estimates.

Author:: Mark Martinez
Publish date:: Jan 12, 2006 1:13 PM EST

Shares of

Identix

( IDNX) were among technology's winners Thursday, soaring 23% after the biometric technology company agreed to be acquired by identity security concern

Viisage Technology

(VISGD)

for about $770 million in stock.

Identix shareholders will receive 0.473 shares of Viisage for each share of Identix they own. Based on Viisage's closing price of $17.69 on Wednesday, the deal is worth about $8.37 a share, representing a 45% premium over Identix's closing price of $5.78 on Wednesday. The deal is expected to close during the second quarter. Shares of Identix were recently trading up $1.32 to $7.10 while shares of Viisage were trading down $1.08 to $16.61.

Mobility Electronics

( MOBE) rose 5% after the company said fourth-quarter sales will be in the middle of its previous forecast of $23 million to $24 million. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call are projecting sales of $23.6 million. "While we received some order deferrals from

RadioShack

(RSH)

, we had stronger sales than expected through other channels, which allowed us to still post solid top-line growth over the prior year," the company said. Shares were trading up 51 cents to $10.51.

Shares of

Symyx Technologies

(SMMX)

fell 3% after the developer of research technology and software issued a 2006 forecast that fell slightly below Wall Street expectations. The company sees pro forma earnings -- which exclude acquisition-related accounting items -- of 33 cents to 38 cents a share. Excluding stock-based compensation costs, the company sees earnings of 53 cents to 58 cents a share. Analysts are projecting earnings of 59 cents a share. Symyx projects sales of $125 million to $135 million, while Wall Street's target calls for sales of $135.7 million.

For the first quarter, Symyx expects earnings of 4 cents to 6 cents a share and sales of $27 million to $28 million. Excluding stock-based compensation costs, the company expects earnings of 7 cents to 9 cents a share. Analysts project earnings of 9 cents a share and sales $26.6 million. Shares were trading down 79 cents to $27.68.

Despite previewing better-than-expected fourth-quarter sales, shares of

Mentor Graphics

(MENT)

fell modestly Thursday. The software company expects fourth-quarter sales to exceed $220 million, which would be ahead of the $217.6 million in sales that analysts expect. The company also said that it expects to be profitable during the quarter. Analysts are projecting earnings of 44 cents a share.

During 2006, the company continues to see sales of $755 million, above analysts' forecast of $746.1 million. Shares were down 8 cents to $11.02.

Shares of

TeleTech Holdings

(TTEC) - Get Report

traded actively after the company forecast better-than-expected fourth-quarter sales. The outsourcing provider put its top line at roughly $300 million, topping analysts' forecast of $278.7 million. TeleTech said results were buoyed by government work related to hurricane relief efforts.

The company expects first-quarter sales will be lower than fourth-quarter results. Earnings, meanwhile, will be hurt by lower sales and by an increase in payroll taxes. Analysts are projecting first-quarter earnings of 9 cents a share and sales of $272.2 million. TeleTech shares were trading down 2 cents to $12.11.

Other technology movers Thursday included

Sirius Satellite Radio

(SIRI) - Get Report

, up 21 cents to $6.33;

Lucent Technologies

( LU), up 6 cents to $2.72;

Cisco

(CSCO) - Get Report

, down 18 cents to $19.22;

Apple Computer

(AAPL) - Get Report

, up $1.97 to $85.87;